AfDB working to secure $3bln to compensate Zimbabwe’s white farmers

By Nada Ali On May 18, 2023

Akinwumi Adesina, is currently serving as the President of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) had developed the financial tools required to pay $3 billion in compensation for white farmers who lost land and other assets in Zimbabwe, according to its statement on Monday.

The new proposal would leverage capital markets to avoid aggravating Zimbabwe’s debt situation, said the bank’s president Akinwumi Adesina, while speaking during a press conference in Harare.

Adesina encourages partners who work together on the proposed instruments as it can help leverage capital markets to fund the compensations without additional debt for Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe, which had more than $14 billion in external debt as of September 2022, has not been able to secure financing from the likes of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in more than two decades due to its arrears.